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Today's speaker was Diane Restorff, from Lionsgate Academy which is a grade 7-12 charter school focused on children on the autism spectrum. Lionsgate started in Minnetonka in 2008. Just last year they expanded by opening a second school in Shoreview, aimed at serving the NE quadrant of the Twin Cities. There are currently about 250 students between the two locations, with another 250 students on a waiting list. Given the wait list, entrance to Lionsgate is gained through a lottery system. As a charter school, it is equivalent to public education in terms of being tuition-free. They are a transition-focused, safety net school, meaning the goal is to help students get to the point of being able to return to a "mainstreamed" setting. Because this disease does occur across a spectrum, students range greatly in terms of developmental issues. Some are still in diapers while others have been able to graduate and go on to college. Debate rages on as to why autism has become so prevalent in our children. Currently 1 in 49 children are found to be somewhere on the spectrum. The ratio of boys to girls with autism continues to be 4 to 1.
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